Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) Stock Price Down 7.1% – What’s Next?

The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) shares were down 7.1% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $67.07 and last traded at $67.8970. Approximately 85,270 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 91% from the average daily volume of 934,010 shares. The stock had previously closed at $73.10.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $72.00 to $74.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $63.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in a report on Monday, May 4th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, July 4th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $76.00 to $75.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, June 8th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Scotts Miracle-Gro presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $73.00.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Price Performance

The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $64.28 and a 200 day moving average price of $64.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.71 and a beta of 1.81.

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The basic materials company reported $2.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.48 by $0.34. The business had revenue of $1.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.17 billion. Scotts Miracle-Gro had a negative return on equity of 79.61% and a net margin of 3.27%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.59 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company will post 4.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 4th. Investors of record on Friday, August 21st will be given a $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 21st. Scotts Miracle-Gro’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 147.49%.

Institutional Trading of Scotts Miracle-Gro

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC grew its position in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 13.1% in the second quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 41,952 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,857,000 after acquiring an additional 4,843 shares in the last quarter. Abound Wealth Management raised its position in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 49.6% during the second quarter. Abound Wealth Management now owns 3,582 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $244,000 after purchasing an additional 1,187 shares in the last quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC raised its position in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 394.1% during the second quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC now owns 751 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $51,000 after purchasing an additional 599 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 7.3% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,200 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $218,000 after purchasing an additional 218 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 1,130.7% during the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,686 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $115,000 after purchasing an additional 1,549 shares during the last quarter. 74.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Company Profile

Scotts Miracle-Gro Company is a leading developer, manufacturer and distributor of consumer lawn and garden products. The firm serves both retail and professional customers through an array of branded offerings that include lawn fertilizers, grass seed, pest and disease control solutions, plant foods and specialty products for indoor and outdoor gardening. Its portfolio spans well-known names such as Scotts®, Miracle-Gro®, Ortho® and various hydroponic and specialty garden brands.

Headquartered in Marysville, Ohio, the company traces its roots to O.M.